GOP lawmakers blast Biden for ‘weaponizing’ DOJ over latest Trump indictment

Republican lawmakers blasted President Biden over the “weaponization” of the federal government after it was revealed Thursday night the Justice Department charged former President Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents.

Trump’s most formidable opponent in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, even decried the unprecedented indictment that marks the first time in US history a former president has faced federal charges.

“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society,” DeSantis wrote on Twitter.

“We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation. Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?” the Florida governor wrote.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said it was a “dark day” for the country and noted that Trump’s being charged over the classified material found in his Mar-a-Lago estate — even though Biden has been under a similar investigation after classified documents were recovered at his Delaware home.

“It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him,” McCarthy said. “Joe Biden kept classified documents for decades. I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump against this grave injustice. House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.”

Trump announced on social media Thursday night that he has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to his mishandling of classified White House documents that were seized from Florida estate. His lawyer Jim Trusty confirmed on CNN that the ex-president is facing seven charges.

The White House was reportedly caught completely off guard by the Trump indictment which it learned about from media reports, officials told The Hill.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote, “If the people in power can jail their political opponents at will, we don’t have a republic.”

The indictment was also slammed by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.): “There is no limit to what these people will do to protect their power & destroy those who threaten it, even if it means ripping our country apart & shredding public faith in the institutions that hold our republic together.”

Rep. Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said it was a “Sad day for America. God Bless President Trump.”

Jordan had days earlier demanded that Attorney General Merrick Garland cough up an unredacted copy of the Justice Department’s memorandum outlining the scope of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation.

The news of the indictment comes the same day an informant file held by the FBI that accuses President Biden of a $5 million bribery scheme while he was vice president was handed over to the House Oversight Committee.

According to committee chair James Comer, the file is an “unclassified record that memorializes a confidential human source’s conversations with a foreign national who claimed to have bribed then-Vice President Joe Biden.”

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik called the DOJ’s case a “witch hunt” against the 76-year-old ex-president.

“The exact same day that the FBI is forced to turn over to Congress absolutely damning an credible allegations regarding Joe Biden’s illegal,egregious and treasonous corruption, Joe Biden weaponizes his Department of Justice to indict Donald Trump,” Stefanik said in a statement.

Matt Gaetz called the indictment “a hoax” and vowed Trump would still retake the White House.

“The phony Boxes Hoax indictment is an attempt to distract the American public from the millions of dollars in bribes that the Biden Crime Family received from foreign nationals,” he tweeted. “This scheme won’t succeed. President Donald Trump will be back in the White House and Joe Biden will be Hunter’s cellmate.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has launched his campaign for the White House, called Trump’s second indictment a distraction for moving the GOP forward proves the need for another Republican candidate.

“Donald Trump’s actions—from his willful disregard for the Constitution to his disrespect for the rule of law—should not define our nation or the Republican Party. This is a sad day for our country,” he said in a statement.

“While Donald Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the ongoing criminal proceedings will be a major distraction. This reaffirms the need for Donald Trump to respect the office and end his campaign,” Hutchinson said.

Hundreds of classified documents that seized by federal investigators were takenTrump’s Florida resort in Jan. 2021 after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

Trump failed to hand over the documents as part of a dispute with the National Archives and Records Administration.

The DOJ was also investigating allegations that Trump was recorded in the summer of 2021 admitting he had classified documents that concerned a US military plan to invade Iran.

President Biden, 80, is also facing a special counsel investigation for having allegedly mishandled classified information.

The Justice Department last week decided not to charge Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence after classified documents were found at his Indiana home in January.

Trump denied he has done anything wrong, raging on Truth social Thursday night that he “IS AN INNOCENT MAN!”

“This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America. We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!” Trump wrote online.

Trump was also indicted in Manhattan in March and charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a “catch and kill” scheme to stop the spread of negative information about him during his 2016 presidential campaign.